Never Broken
by Letter to Miss
Summary: One day in June 2008, in Hinamizawa village, Naruto and his friends discover a secret that will change their lives forever. Suspicions, betrayal, and doubts are planted in their minds. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni/Naruto crossover. On permanent hiatus.
1. Boredom

Chapter One - Naruto

"Hey, wait up!" I called, rushing down the winding dirt road.

"Don't count on it!" Sakura replied over her shoulder, relishing in the fact that _she _was going to get to school first. Another victory was all that she wanted at the moment, and I was going to do all that I could to stop her from obtaining that goal.

Pumping my arms and forcing my legs to work even harder, I continued sprinting. I wouldn't lose. So what if this was Sakura, the girl of my dreams? I didn't want to lose, and she was just an obstacle in my way at the moment. My _true_ goal was to arrive before Sasuke. Dust smacked my face, along with sand and loose dirt. "Heh," I muttered.

"What?" Sakura said in disbelief, her bubblegum pink hair flowing in the rush of air that represented me zooming past her. "What the hell was that?"

"Come on!" I shouted, knowing that I'd have to play one last card to get her to continue competing; Sakura gave up too easily. "Sasuke will be there before you!"

Sakura snorted, lowered her head, and charged forward. I thundered down the path, my subconscious reminding me that she was catching up. I whipped around the turn, the one-room schoolhouse in sight. I dared to take a glance to the side; Sakura was matching me step by step, but she was exhausted. Sweat poured down her large forehead, and her eyes watered in the effort. Unfortunately for her, I didn't like to lose. My feet pounding down the walk, I let out a victory whoop. I threw open the door, grinning at the sight of the empty hallway. All that was left was to see if the classroom was empty. I ran down the hallway, and zoomed into the doorway. My jaw dropped.

Sasuke sat in a desk by the window, leaning his head against the wall, his hair raven-colored fallen over one black eye. I gritted my teeth, and proceeded to cross my arms. Sullenly stalking into the room, I took a seat on the other side of the room. Somehow, he always managed to get here first. I wondered if he slept in the school. Sakura entered the room, sweeping her hair into a ponytail, and panting. How un-ladylike. Oh well, I gave her a quick smile, raising my eyebrows and waving. She stuck her nose in the air, working her hardest to ignore me. Instead of looking at me, she glanced at the clock, which read 7:15AM. School started at 8:00AM. Great. Forty-five minutes with Sasuke. I didn't mind Sakura's company though, in fact, I enjoyed it.

I yawned, swinging my legs back and forth. Nothing was worse than being bored, except for maybe being bored with Sasuke. I decided to add a little pizazz to this early morning scene, knowing damn well that Sensei wouldn't arrive until 7:30AM or later. He was late most of the time, but I didn't want to take any chances with _this _plan. "Hey guys!" I said, arising from my seat.

"What?" Sakura snapped.

"Just shut up," Sasuke grumbled.

"I know exactly what we should do on a boring morning like this!" I tried to keep my voice down, but I was failing considerably.

"Here's an idea: Go have fun in hell. They'd welcome you with open arms," Sasuke replied, making up in the quietness that I was so obviously lacking.

"Wow, Sasuke, that is _so _clever," Sakura giggled.

I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather not," continuing, I added, "but we could do something fun, like..."

"You are _so_ lame," Sakura laughed, plopping down in the chair next to Sasuke.

"Not when you hear this idea!" I wasn't going to let Sakura get me down. "Why don't we check out the Hinamizawa school records? We could look at all of those old stupid pictures of people! Come on, don't you want to see those awful fashion senses?"

"No," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes at my idea.

"Come on, don't you want to see? Maybe Sensei keeps a stash of porn too!" I felt a nosebleed coming on. "Anyway," I said, changing the subject to avoid getting labelled as a pervert, "where's your curious side?"

"Sasuke's just being smart!" Sakura leaped to Sasuke's defense. "I bet he'd have much more fun hanging around here with me!"

Sliding his chair out, standing up, and looking more than just a little uncomfortable, Sasuke said, "Uh, let's just look for a moment..."

"I'm coming!" Sakura bounced up, almost crashing into Sasuke in the process.

Positive that the two of them would follow me like a herd of sheep, I marched out of the classroom confidently, entering the principal's office with a swagger. Sasuke crept in afterwards, sighing in irritation over being dragged into one of my plots. Sakura stepped in, keeping close by Sasuke's side. I made my way to the filing cabinet, and froze when I heard the noise of a door creak open. "Shit!" I muttered, "Sensei's probably here!"

"Where do we hide!?" Sakura said frantically, whipping her head from side to side in panic.

"Sensei's footsteps are louder, and he's usually mumbling to himself," Sasuke rolled his eyes at our reaction.

Not wanting to be outshone, I tuned my ears into the sound of the person in the hallway's footsteps. They were light, unlike Kakashi-sensei's heavy, somehow accented ones. I didn't want any intrusions though, and stayed as silent as I could. For some reason, the Hinamizawa school's records had been taunting me with their secrets for years. There was no way I was going to let some goody-goody ruin it. Poking my head out the window, I saw the slight form of Hinata Hyuuga trudging to the classroom. At the sight of me, she began sputtering apologies and various excuses. "Don't tell," I whispered, "please?"

Hinata nodded, her head bobbing up and down as quick as a squirrel on crack. She continued nodding for almost two minutes, and it finally took me putting a steady hand on her shoulder for her to shut up. Her face became as red as a robin's breast. "Are you okay?" I asked; she looked pretty damn sick. Hinata didn't respond to me, just nodding her head to represent a yes. I shrugged, making my retreat into the wonderful world of the principal's office. "Who was that?" Sakura whispered, her forehead wrinkling in concern.

"Just Hinata," I said, now sure of our success.

"Okay," Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

Noticing Sasuke leafing through a drawer of sizable files, I went back to my former position. After only a few moments of watching Sasuke, I wanted _my _turn to examine them! It was my idea, after all! I rammed into his side, throwing all of my weight onto his thin body. I know that sounds totally wrong, but all I did was knock him over! Sasuke took a slide to the left, smacking into the wall, which was devoid of any academic awards, I noted. I doubted that anyone got any good jobs after spending a few years at _this_ school. Whatever. I leafed through the files, treating them like precious gold that would be lost if I made the wrong move. I drew out a rather large one, looking at the picture that was tacked onto the cover. The picture depicted a boy who looked to be about sixteen, with light brown hair that only slightly masked his facial features. His eyes were purple and abnormally large, and seemed to be laughing at me. His mouth was twisted in uncertainty. My eyes traveled to the name under this student who, judging by what it said about his graduation state.... oh, what the hell. There _was no _graduation date! The student, Keiichi Maebara, like the name-tag said, never graduated for some reason. Why didn't he graduate? Did he drop out or something, or did something worse happen?

I didn't think I'd ever been so curious in my life. I happened to be a naturally curious person, but never to the point of being compelled to snoop into a total stranger's records. After a moment's hesitation, I opened the cover, looking through the papers stored in the teen's file. The first page that I saw was normal, just a report card. He got relatively good grades, with the exception of Science class. After flipping through the first ten pages of schoolwork, I began to wonder if there was anything worth reading and if this was all just stupid. Yawning, I turned to the next paper. I froze, shock overwhelming me.

It was a crime report. More specifically, a report on a murder. Becoming more and more interested, I read on.

"_June, 1983, in the remote village of Hinamizawa of Houken Shishibone City, two female students were murdered."_

"Guys?" I said, shivering.

"What?" Sakura asked; Sasuke remained silent.

"This is crazy," I laughed nervously, "no one would die in Hinamizawa? I mean, this is Hinamizawa, right?! Nothing happens here, right?"

* * *

Thanks for reading! This is my first attempt at a crossover, so I hope that it has turned out well so far.


	2. Curse

**Chapter Two - Sasuke **

I didn't now why the hell I'd decided to go along with Naruto's freaking retarded plan to save the whales or something like that. Even spending forty-five minutes with Sakura would've been better than this load of shit that Naruto decided to dump on me. What was he talking about anyway? He was probably just rambling on about some crap that I didn't care about. I sighed in irritation, drumming my fingers on the wall. My back still hurt considerably, thanks to Naruto, otherwise known as the biggest dickhead to ever make his home in Hinamizawa. I wanted to rub my back or get an ice-pack, but that'd be yielding to him, and admitting my weakness. Instead, I suppressed a moan and sat up. My back seared in pain; I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. That bastard, what the hell did he have against me? "Naruto," Sakura said, "what're you even talking about?"

"These files," Naruto began, then added on in a mystified tone, "are as crazy as Sensei on that one day when he came to school with a hangover."

"Whatever," I grunted.

"No, really," Naruto gagged on his next sentence, his eyes as wide as the Pacific Ocean, and probably just as blue.

Now I was sort of concerned. Knowing Naruto, he never flipped out or was totally freaked by anything. Maybe that was just because Hinamizawa is a _mostly_ tranquil village, note the mostly, but he's never experienced anything having to do with the guardian deity of our home, at least, I don't think he has, but when I say deity, I mean _deity. _I'm talking about Oyashiro-sama, and while I usually seem pretty apathetic about what's going on, Oyashiro-sama is an exception. He dictates what happens in this village, what you do, what you say, and who dies every year. Before I was born, there was something called The Hinamizawa Dam Project. The government wanted to flood this place in order to make a lake or something like that; I wasn't there, so I don't know everything. The families in town protested against the act. They held demonstrations, protests, and marches. They appealed to different officials and groups in order to save the village that they loved so much. The Sonozaki family, one of the three head families of town, was one of the big orchestrators of the protests. Then, right around the Watanagashi Festival, the dam construction manager was found murdered, chopped into different sections, the arms, legs, head, and torso. They still haven't found his right arm. Afterwards, a chain of deaths has commenced. Every year after, right around the festival, one person dies, and another is spirited away. I know it's weird that I know so much about the touchy topic of Oyashiro-sama's Curse, but it's because I know firsthand what it is.

In June 1998, I came home to find my parents brutally murdered. My brother was nowhere to be found. I was only six years old at the time, and the experience has totally changed my life. I used to not believe in the curse; I thought it was stupid. I guess that was Oyashiro-sama's punishment, in some sick, sadistic way. Ever since that day, I've treated Hinamizawa with as well as I could, and I know, oh I know, that Oyashiro-sama is _real_. I didn't please him. I got what I deserved. Although it was wrong to kill my parents, I think I've learned my lesson. Every day I live with the nagging guilt of it being my fault. I never wanted any of it to happen.

Sakura and Naruto were both bending over the file now, and they both were showing equal disgust and fear. Turning her head, Sakura stared at me. I wondered if she was admiring me as usual, or trying to tell me to join her and Naruto in the reading. Whatever she was doing, she wasn't hiding the fact that she was gawking at whatever she was looking at. "What do you want?" I said, feeling like a sulky kid, mainly because of Naruto's complete humiliation of me.

"Would you mind reading this with us?" Sakura pleaded, her emerald green eyes round as Santa Claus's stomach.

The pink-haired girl looked like she was about to go down on her knees and beg. "Fine," I said, letting my soft side get some reward.

Sakura smiled at me, probably expecting my heart to melt like chocolate. Sadly, I don't melt easily. In fact, I think it'd take a gallon of gasoline and a lighter to really make me melt, or would that make me blow up...? Wow, I feel stupid. I half-walked, half-crawled to Sakura's side. My back still ached. Fuck you, Naruto, fuck you for jacking up my back so much. At first glance, all I saw was a bunch of pointless writing. At the bottom of the page, something caught my interest. It was only a picture of a baseball bat, just a normal metal baseball bat. I don't know why it attracted me so much. The thing was just sitting there, no one was holding it or anything.

To my annoyance, Naruto flipped the page. The next one was a picture of two bodies. I felt some puke rising in my throat, and fought to keep it down. One body was beaten beyond gender recognition, its green hair splayed out on the bloodstained floor. The other was laying next to it, their head smashed in and arms bent in strange directions. I looked away, putting a pale hand over my mouth. Was this the work of Oyashiro-sama as well? What did these schoolgirls do to deserve his wrath?

Noticing my discomfort, Naruto turned to the next page. This was one of a phone booth, the inside stained with blood. The yellow phone hung from its line almost to the floor, a bloody hand-print on it. Another hand-print was on the glass wall of the phone booth, dragging itself down for a few inches, and then stopping. "Turn the page," I groaned, breaking out in a cold sweat, "turn the fucking page!"

Sakura reached over Naruto's shoulder and turned it. Maybe fan-girls aren't so bad. Naruto was still partially in shock for some reason, hadn't anyone told him to do _anything_ before? He didn't know pain, hell, I doubted that he'd ever even got a bruise. Naruto always acted like he was on top, maybe it was because his parents had disappeared at his birth, maybe it was for attention, maybe he didn't know another way to be, but I _hated_ it. I hated him. "I'm going to go," I stood up painfully, trudging out of the office, feeling their gazes hot on my back.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sakura said softly.

I pretended not to hear.

* * *

I know that I'm just popping out chapters here, but I've been writing like crazy over the past few days! Enjoy! 


	3. Thoughts

****

Chapter Three - Hinata

I laid my books out upon the desk; I really needed to study for the quiz today. There was only half an hour left until school started, and I'd spent the last ten minutes pondering over why I always had to act like such an idiot around Naruto. It always made me feel like such a ditz whenever I fainted or stammered or did something stupid like that around him.

Sasuke came into the room then, looking like a shadow of his usually cold and steely self. He slumped into the desk that he'd dumped his books on, sighing for some reason. I said nothing. I would much rather be ignored than harassed, and if Sasuke enjoyed harassing Naruto so much, there was nothing stopping him from harassing me. I clasped my hands together underneath the table, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. I was hardly accustomed to being around guys, and the presence of Sasuke Uchiha, the town's most well-known heartthrob, was even more unnerving than being around my cousin, Neji. Neji hated my guts, but Sasuke was a whole different story. I didn't know how to act around him _or _Naruto; they seemed so sure of themselves, and while this sounds really shallow, they were both also too good-looking for me. I didn't deserve either of them, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Naruto. Sasuke is very cool and aloof most of the time, and he's very nice looking, but Naruto actually seemed to have a personality. I admired the way that he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, and would charge headfirst into any situation without any information on the matter.

Peeking over at Sasuke, I noticed that his eyes had a red tinge to them, as if he'd been crying his eyes out. Now that I thought about it, he _had _been hiding his face in his arms. Maybe he wasn't the apathetic rock that I believed that he was. Either ignoring my presence or not caring, he wiped his running nose with his arm, and then rubbed his arm on the bottom of his desk. I felt bad for whoever had to clean that. I was inclined to ask him if he was okay, that's the polite thing, but didn't say anything. My mouth had been glued shut with a bottle of Gorilla Glue, and that's how I intended it to stay.

Instant shame washed over me; so I was willing to leave a classmate in pain in order to save myself the trouble of speaking to someone? I really was a self-centered bitch. I'd love to change that, but I don't think that I ever will be able to. Encouragement doesn't work with me very often; inspiration can attempt to change me occasionally though.

Sasuke glanced at me, finally realizing that I had been sitting there the entire time. I could've sworn that he blushed, even for just a second. I bit my lip. There's no way that was possible, was there? Sasuke Uchiha was _way _out of my league, and I didn't even like him anyway! I took a deep breath, maybe I could work to get over my shyness, and the first step would be talking to another student. Thanks to my "condition," I had gotten myself labeled as "That-One-Really-Anti-Social-Girl-Who-Probably-Hates-Everyone." I didn't like it one bit, as it caused me to be completely ignored and rejected by most of the school's students. Having friends was one privilege that I had never been granted. Now that I thought about it, I was a pretty lonely person. No one seemed to want to be around me, and that scared me away even more than if the person had been holding a freaking chain saw.

Swiping a strand of onyx-colored hair into his equally dark eyes, he turned in his chair to face me. I gulped, feeling my face go scarlet. He'd never given me an ounce of attention before today; what could possibly make him want to talk to me now? I wondered if I was shrinking into my chair, or if that was just my imagination. "Hey," Sasuke said, "your name's Hinata Hyuuga, right?"

I nodded timidly, cursing myself for not having come up with a situation like this and having a solution ready to go.

"Okay," he started to turn back around, "I just wanted to know..."

"Really?" I asked, genuinely confused as to why he'd ever want to talk to someone like me.

"Yeah," Sasuke said.

"Oh," I replied; I refused to be a stupid fan-girl who spent their days fawning over the like of Sasuke Uchiha. I admit that he's very cute, and that he has the whole silent hot guy thing going for him, but Naruto is much more... alive. For some reason, I've always had the nagging suspicion that Sasuke, while appearing to be a walking and talking living person, was truly dead on the inside. He'd been that way ever since June 1998, otherwise known as the year and month his parents perished. I'd prefer not to go into the details; it was a terrible incident, and I didn't really like to talk about those kind of things. "Hey," Sasuke began the same way as last time, although there was a different look in his eyes.

"What?" I questioned.

"Do you know Oyashiro-sama?" his eyes glinted ominously.

"O-o-oyashiro-sama?" I stammered; why would he bring the town's guardian into this?

"Yes," he repeated softly, "Oyashiro-sama."

"What about him?" a tingle traveled up my spine, causing me to shiver involuntarily.

"Does he watch you sleep?"

"H-huh?"

"Have you been followed everywhere; do you hear the footsteps echoing behind you?"

"N-no." What the hell was wrong with him?

"Have you ever had someone apologize to you… over and over again?"

"N-no."

I gripped the edge of seat, grinding my teeth together. This was seriously weird. I'd never had a conversation with the guy, but yet he was asking me about the touchy subject of Oyashiro-sama. Either Sasuke was completely at ease talking about anything with anyone, or something was up.

He smiled suddenly, his face brightening up considerably. "That's great!" he exclaimed, turning back around in his seat and falling into his previous position.

"Okay?" I asked myself, returning to my thoughts.

* * *

_Oyashiro-sama._

It was almost midnight. The moon's pale light shone through my window. I hadn't been able to sleep all night. I couldn't stop thinking about the conversation Sasuke and I had had this morning. A name keeps pounding through my head. A name that is feared, loved, and detested by many people. I haven't had many experiences with this name, but one thing is for certain. It won't get out of my head.

_Oyashiro-sama. Oyashiro-sama. Oyashiro-sama._

* * *

Be prepared for the chapters to come; I'm planning for many more Higurashi-ish scenes. I wouldn't mind a review or two every once in a while either. ;D [/shameless advertising] Anyway, I hope to get the newer chapters up soon, but be ready for another huge break. Thanks for reading! - Onikakushi (Previously known as Simply Doomed) 


	4. Failure

****

Chapter Four – Sakura

I held my breath, hardly daring to make a noise. I'd been planning my revenge on Naruto throughout class today when I hadn't been thinking of those murders. They'd really dug beneath my skin, exposing my flesh to the cold and awful truth. A student of the school, my school, had beaten two of his classmates to death and then proceeded to claw out his own throat with his own fingernails. None of them deserved it; what had they done? They'd committed a crime so awful that it scared Sasuke away. Sasuke. He was the only one whose love I craved, whose opinion I cherished, whose very presence made me want to swoon like a ditz from some crappy romance movie. All of my dreams for the future, or at least, what I hoped would happen in the future, involved Sasuke. The only problem? His heart was locked with a key that had been hidden away a long time ago. I felt obliged to be the one to unlock the real Sasuke, the one that I'd seen a few years ago. The Sasuke he'd been as a kid, the person who had been lost in the horrors of the Hinamizawa Chain of Deaths. I loved him no matter how he was, but I still wanted to bring him back.

Creeping along the side of Naruto's shack of a house, I considered just ditching this plan. I would probably chicken out soon anyway. No. I wouldn't back down this time. I would get back at Naruto for making me lose time with Sasuke; I'll make him regret ever racing me. I chuckled darkly, now it was the time to let the games begin.

I peered into his window, spying Naruto sitting upright in his bed. His sapphire eyes met mine, and I gasped. Why the hell was he awake at this hour? My face went as red as a ripe tomato, considering that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts that had multiple designs loads of little frogs on them. My gaze traveled over his muscled chest; I couldn't help it, of course! He had nice abs though, and very tanned arms. I was sure that I was as crimson as my dress by then.

Naruto laughed lightheartedly. I bet that seeing me standing right outside his bedroom window didn't faze him; at least, he wasn't half as fazed as I was. Did guys even care if a lady saw them in their boxers? Damn, and I thought that even Naruto had a little bit of modesty. I guess I was as wrong as the last idiot who believed that. Naruto waved at me, his fingers waggling mockingly. "Stupid," I muttered.

"Are you coming in or what?" he half-asked, half-shouted.

"Not so loud," I said hurriedly, keeping my voice down, unlike his royal dumbass.

"Well?" Naruto questioned, not bothering to heed my request.

"Fine, fine," I sighed in defeat, "but only for a minute, okay?"

"Any amount of time is fine with me!" Naruto said, grinning widely.

I groaned, feeling my way along the side of his shack. My fingers slipped around the doorknob, and turned it spitefully. The door creaked open, revealing a small kitchen; a bathroom off to the side, and a doorway with must have led to Naruto's bedroom. I squinted into the darkness, wondering what Naruto must be planning. If he was going to try and rape me, I wanted to be ready. I dug through my bag (otherwise known as my revenge tool storage facility), searching frantically for my pepper spray. I'd scoffed at it when my mother had handed it to me a few years ago, but now I was pretty sure that I actually would find a use for it. I had never liked Naruto much; he was too immature for me. Actually, he's still too childlike and naïve for me. He'd always shown way more interest in me than Sasuke though, and had been hanging on to me ever since we were little kids. "What are you waiting for? Come on in!" Naruto called.

I held my pepper spray behind my back, and stepped through the doorway into Naruto's bedroom. A cot was against the left wall, with a ratty pillow and a threadbare blanket tossed carelessly on it. Various papers and other things that I'd rather not know what they were lay scattered on the rug-less floor. A stench wafted from a large cardboard box that stuck out from beneath the cot. I gagged, throwing my hands over my nose. "Huh?" Naruto asked as I fell to the floor, rolling around and squeezing my watering eyes shut.

"What is that?" I screamed, my whole body on fire, or so it seemed.

"I think it was my lunch a few years ago," he said thoughtfully, "or maybe my science project."

"It hurts! It hurts!" I sobbed, wishing that my damn nose would just fall off and spare me from all of this pain.

"Maybe someone snuck in and changed it though," he glanced down at me for a moment, and then bent down to tear open the flaps of the box.

The smell was stronger now, scorching my nostrils and causing me to writhe in agony. My fingers twitched and drummed on the floor without me even telling them to. I almost wished that my nose would fall off so I wouldn't have to go through this. Hell, I bet that even rape would be better than this, even if only by a little bit. "Make it stop!" I shrieked. Naruto tore even faster, revealing an emptiness that mocked the torture I was going through.

"Why are you doing this?" I brought one of my arms away from my nose and lashed out at Naruto's exposed legs.

"Sakura, I'm not doing anything!" Naruto winced as my nails clawed into his skin.

"Sure as hell you are!" I snarled; blood was beginning to seep from the spots that my nails had torn seconds before.

"I'm just trying to help you!" he cried out, attempting to step back, but tripping over the box.

"If you want to help me so bad, then help!" I let out a hysterical choke of laughter. "Why wait?"

"You're not letting me-ouch!"

I dragged myself across his pigsty of a home, latching my hands firmly onto the doorway. I pulled my body through; I wasn't going to make it, I just knew. With one final heave, my fingers scraped the kitchen table's leg. It wasn't enough, however, and my vision faded to black.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Sasuke's fearful voice beckoned me from around the bend of a dark hallway. His shadow danced on the wall, twisting into distorted forms. His voice still called my name. I rushed forward, screaming out, "Sasuke! I'm coming, okay, Sasuke? It'll be alright, I promise!"

His beseeching calls were cut short with a gurgle, and the shadow stopped its frantic dance. Blood splattered on the wall at the end of the hallway, trailing into a stream that flowed in my direction. I stopped in mid-step, crumbling to the floor and wailing. Glancing up for a moment, my gaze fell upon a black figure standing at the end of the hall. Their eyes were the only thing that I could make out, and they were scarlet red with catlike pupils. The figure began to pace towards me, growing more and more familiar with every step. They raised a bloody hatchet over their head, and…

* * *

Here's the fourth chapter, and don't say that I didn't warn you! ;D

Sorry for both of these chapters being bolded; my document editing thing is being all fucked up. .


	5. Conspiracy

****

**Chapter Five – Sasuke**

I flipped the page in my book, which was very interesting, by the way, and reveled in the solitude that the empty classroom presented. I had been in an oddly good mood lately, which was most likely due to the conversation I'd had with Hinata Hyuuga yesterday morning. She hadn't heard the voices, the footsteps, or the apologies. She was safe, and I had almost full confidence that she would survive the Watanagashi Festival, which would take place next Monday. I hardly knew the girl, but it made me feel good to know that a classmate of mine wouldn't die or be demoned away.

I wondered if Naruto had been planning to cause me to freak out about the murders. The murders… I shuddered. My palms shook just thinking about them. Naruto, that son of a bitch must've known about Oyashiro-sama's punishment and decided to exploit it to his full advantage. I should've known; he's hated me all of these years, why wouldn't he try to mess with my goddamn brain now? Why couldn't I have seen it before? I was stupid, just plain stupid. I couldn't even recognize Naruto's plot until it actually happened right in front of my very eyes. If I couldn't recognize a plot as stupid as his, could I ever recognize something more important, like the curse?

I took a quick peek at the clock; it was 7:10AM. I'd have five to ten more minutes alone, and then the vultures would swoop in. I slumped back into my desk. I just didn't want to have to deal with Sakura's fretting and Ino's fawning all day. After a sleepless night, there was nothing worse than dealing with two girls who didn't know how to take a hint. I yawned, wishing that I could stop thinking about those damn murders and start thinking about sleep.

I guess that I must've dozed off, because the next thing I felt was someone shaking my arm. My eyes flickered open, and the first thing I saw was a waving hand with painted red nails. "You're awake!" the proud voice of Ino gloated. "Did you see that, Billboard Brow? _You _couldn't have woken him up if your life depended on it!"

"Oh shut up, Porky!" Sakura snapped, and then laid a palm on my forehead. "Are you okay? You don't look like you're feeling well."

"I'm fine," I muttered, sitting up in my chair and surveying the room. Most of the class had arrived during my nap, including the total fucktard Naruto Uzumaki. I scowled, not caring about the hurt expressions on Sakura and Ino's faces. Sakura withdrew her hand and let it fall it to her side. "Sorry," she whispered, and I finally noticed the dark circles under her eyes that matched my own.

"It's okay," I said in the most cheerful tone I could muster up, which was about as cheerful as a pile of dog shit.

Sakura didn't reply; she turned to the window and began to play with her hair, which I swear was even pinker than it was yesterday.

"Really," I added on, managing a smile.

There was no answer.

I sighed, abandoning my attempts to cheer her up and returning to my brooding. Sakura and I weren't that different, I guessed. She must go through some sort of daily agony, right? Smack me if I'm wrong, but that's just what I think on the matter. She might be a normal schoolgirl with nothing better to do than obsess over me, but there was still the slightest chance that we might be more alike than we are at first glance. "Billboard Brow!" Ino teased, poking Sakura's gargantuan sized forehead.

"Stop it," Sakura sighed in defeat.

"How many times do you think you could fit Sasuke's ass on there?" Ino said in a singsong sort of voice, obviously basking in her victory over Sakura.

"Shut up!" I hissed, knowing full well that my face was the reddest it had ever been in my entire life.

"Sasuke's blushing!" Ino sang. "Come on, sweetie, you know that your ass is just too good for _Billboard Brow_!"

"Shut it!" I snarled; my face had to have looked more like a tomato than a Sasuke.

"Ino," Sakura whispered, her voice deathly quiet, "don't make fun of Sasuke."

"I'm not making fun of him," Ino protested, "I'm complimenting him! There's a big difference!"

"Why don't you try opening up a dictionary and looking up sexual harassment?" I rolled my eyes. "It might do you some good."

"No way!" Ino laughed as if I were joking. "Reading is for losers!"

"Sasuke reads," Sakura piped up.

"What I meant to say is," Ino tittered nervously, "that reading is for totally awesome and totally cool people! Yeah!"

I didn't answer her and instead turned back to my book. Ino was such an annoying bitch; Sakura was better on a rare occasion. I wanted to bang my head on the wall half of the day, and it was all thanks to those two. I dug my nails into my left wrist, which was underneath the table, and gritted my teeth. No, I would _not_ go into some fit and smack Ino, one part of my brain said. No, no, no. The other part in my brain attempted to reason with myself, pleading to be able to hit Ino if _she _hit me first. I tried to block it out, and thankfully, I succeeded. Some days, I just wanted to grab that girl and slam her thick skull against the floor. No, I don't mean to_ rape_ her; I just really wanted to kill that bitch every once in a while.

_Step, step. _I took a quick peek over my shoulder at the sound of footsteps. Most of the class was seated, however, and I couldn't find the source of the sound. Time seemed to freeze in that moment as a cold chill washed over me. I crossed my arms, teeth chattering. I remembered this feeling, this cold, this feeling as if there was something in the room that escaped my vision. I laid my head on the table, suppressing a shudder. The footsteps came more often now. Once it was uncommon, a rarity really, for me to experience their torture. Now, however, they came nearly every day. A soft breath sounded next to me; I froze. Was this Oyashiro-sama's final punishment? Had he come to get me?

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

I blinked my eyes open, glancing upward to see the slim form of Hinata Hyuuga standing over me. She was apologizing for something, although I had no clue what. "Huh?" I grunted.

"I-I'm sorry for waking you," Hinata stammered, "but Sakura said that she had something to tell you."

"So why didn't she come over to tell me herself?" I asked.

Hinata shrugged.

"So you don't know?"

"No," a shadow passed over her pale face; the only thing that remained illuminated were her lavender eyes.

"Um," I searched for another thing to say.

"She wanted me to give you this," Hinata said, her voice quiet, a scrap of paper held out in her right hand.

"What is it?"

Hinata said nothing, handing it to me and quickly walking away, all the while avoiding my eyes. I smoothed out the wrinkled paper, staring at the crossed out words and scrawled handwriting. She must've written this in a hurry. My eyes scanned the page, deciphering her words one by one.

_Sasuke,_

_ I have to know something. You probably th Sasuke. Please, just tell me one thing. I know that you think that I'm just a stupid girl who isn't worth your time, but something's going on, and I really think that you should know. I think that Naruto wants to hurt me, us, really. This may seem strange, and I know that you're probably not going to believe me. But I want need your help to stop him. He tried to hurt me last night. Sasuke, please help me. I need to talk to you. Now. _

_ Sakura_

_

* * *

_

Author's Notes

Again is being a jerk and refusing to unbold my FanFics. It also took out all of the crossed out parts of Sakura's letter, which is why there are underlines under certain parts. For some clarification on the previous chapter (Much was needed), Sakura was sneaking to Naruto's house to get revenge for beating her to school. Again, I apologize for the bolds. Thanks for reading!


	6. Letters

**Chapter Six**

**Sakura**

I looked over at Sasuke, careful not to stare for too long. His brow furrowed as he read over my note; had I been too frank? I knew that Naruto wanted to hurt both of us. He'd slammed Sasuke into a wall, and that awful smell he'd unleashed in his bedroom still scorched my nostrils. At the moment, there was nothing that would make me happier than scoring my nails across his face again and again and again.

***

"Sakura!" it was after school, and I was on my way home. The gray storm clouds were gathering overhead as I glanced behind me. Sasuke was chasing after me, his bag flailing in the wind, his arms pumping. He came to a stop beside me, breathing hard. "God, did you forget or something?" he snapped, his hair falling over his left eye.

"I was going to meet you further from school," I said, blushing.

"Oh," Sasuke muttered.

We walked in silence for a while, pretending to ignore what we knew was begging to be said. I kept my eyes rooted to the ground; my palms were shaking. Even out here, far away from Naruto's watchful eyes, I still wanted to crawl under my bed and never come out.

"Sakura," Sasuke said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"How did Naruto hurt you?"

"I went to his house, to…" I didn't want to say it outright; he might've thought that I was a pervert.

"To what?" he asked, abruptly stopping.

"To play a joke," I replied in a small voice.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Sasuke didn't respond; he seemed as if he was off in another world. I wondered what could possibly be going through his head, and I hoped that it was about me. His eyes were distant, slightly glazed over, and constantly avoiding my face. "What are you thinking about?" I asked him, feeling immensely bold.

"Nothing," he murmured.

"Really?" I swear that my tongue was dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah," Sasuke said through his teeth, glaring at me from the corner of his eye.

"Er, sorry!" words spouted from my mouth, uncontrollable as the storms that plagued Hinamizawa during the winter months.

Again, he remained silent, taunting me with his secret thoughts. What was he thinking about? I knew that he'd never tell me, but I couldn't help from wishing. There was nothing wrong with that, was there?

I sighed, hoping that Sasuke could hear me. Wishes, while I continue in vain to make them, have proved themselves useless once again. I wrung my hands together nervously. The cloudy skies laughed down at me, mocking my despair. "He'll never like you!" they teased, stabbing through my heart over and over again.

"You're lying; it'll happen!" I snapped abruptly in my mind.

"About what?" Sasuke asked, and I jumped as a response.

I flushed scarlet. I guess that speaking in my head doesn't always work, especially when I have a tendency to speak whatever's going through it. My mouth worked faster than my brain, which wasn't the best way to make your way about trying to get the cutest guy in school to like you. "Nothing!" I retorted, and then flinched at my own stupidity.

He gazed at me curiously, one eyebrow raised. I rooted my eyes to the dirt road, finally averting them when I saw my house. "I-I really should get going," I stuttered. "My house is just over there."

"Wait," Sasuke commanded, grabbing my arm.

"Yeah?" I said, as time seemed to stop.

"Please," he said softly, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "Sakura."

"Yes?" I breathed.

"I-I like you. A lot."

I finally drew my eyes away from the oh-so interesting ground to peer up at Sasuke. He had regained the distant look in his eyes, which were constantly avoiding mine. "Really?" I asked, feeling the blush creeping up my cheeks.

"Yeah," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I-I _really _like you."

Ignoring the falter in his voice, I rushed forward, embracing him warmly. Words wouldn't, _couldn't_ escape from my mouth. I had no words for this joy, the feeling that I was complete, that he loved me at last. For a quick moment, he recoiled in shock, and then settled into ease. I grinned sheepishly, laughing in delight. Expressions flitted across his face, never staying for more than a second or two. His eyes watched the area behind me, so I turned to behold what was so interesting to him.

A woman trudged past us, head down, blonde hair covering her face. She clutched a notebook full of letters to her chest, and her violet eyes never failed to look away from it. Her clothes were tattered and worn, hanging on her thin frame like clothes on a clothesline. She swayed suddenly, fumbling with her papers and scattering them across the ground. Her eyes widened, and a shriek pierced the air.

Pulling myself apart from Sasuke, I rushed to the scene, snatching up some of the dropped letters and trying to hold them all within my arms. A letter, then another, and then another one, too, slipped from within my grasp, floating to the ground. Damn it. I gritted my teeth, bending down to continue my upward battle. There was no way that I was going to give in to something as silly as this, and I especially wasn't going to lose to a bunch of _letters_ in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke remained standing alone, simply watching my attempts to contain all of the letters without anything but my arms. _Come on, Sasuke!_ I pleaded to him without speaking, begging for any help that he could offer. "Whoops!" a letter flew from my pile, being pulled along by the air until it was caught between Sasuke's thumb and index finger.

"Give them back!" the woman cried, finally speaking. Her voice was shrill, even when not screaming. It echoed through the valleys, eerily resonating on every rock, every stream. I shivered, offering the papers to her. "Here you go," I said, mustering up a cheerful, kind voice to try to calm her nerves, and then muttering under my breath, "I hope that you're happy."

"She said that, too!" the woman, face paling by the second, wailed. "She said it, and it… and it…"

"It what?" Sasuke said roughly, still holding the letter that had flown his way.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY _ANYTHING_!" she snapped violently, her whole form shaking. "You hear it; you hear it, don't you? Don't you!?"

Sasuke flinched as if he'd been smacked, and as he began stepping back, his pupils shrunk in fear.

"Oyashiro-sama, yes, you know the name! You know the footsteps! You know what they mean!" she continued, faster this time.

"What?" Sasuke whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "Besides what, besides the fact that they mean something bad, something awful, something terrifying. Right?"

"Stop it!" I intervened, sliding to the right to stand in front of Sasuke. "What did he ever do to you?"

"It never ends," the woman said, her eyes seeming to see through me. "Everyone, all of you, all of me, all of us. We know it."

A retching sound rang in my ears, along with a weathered panting afterwards. I wheeled around, facing Sasuke. His face was white, and I mean _white_. The only color embedded on its surface was his dark, penetrating eyes. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. He shuddered, vomiting again in the bushes. "Sasuke!" I leaned over, huddling over him like he was a lost child, desperately searching for his mother, who was probably off in some bar, hooking up with a fellow crack whore. I blinked at the sound of the woman's soft footsteps, which were finally taking flight.

"It never ends," the woman murmured, hobbling away, all but one of her letters re-tucked into the worn notebook. "It never ends…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Oh my god, I am so sorry for the huge delay in chapters! First I ran out of motivation, then I came down with Writer's Block, and now, finally, I'm getting this chapter done! I'd like to thank liobis on DA and Mikopuppy for the huge help! Liobis, your ideas were excellent! Madeline, thank you for being an awesome beta! I should like to end this story with fifteen chapters, and, yes, I have an ending somewhat planned. Thank you for reading~! x3 *hugs readers*


End file.
